Centre advises states to impose curfew wherever necessary to keep people inside homes
New Delhi: As people continue to venture out despite lockdown, the Centre has advised state governments and union territory administrations to impose curfew wherever necessary in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Tuesday.
A top functionary of the central government has called up some of the chief ministers and apprised them of the necessity of imposing the curfew if people continue to venture out of their homes.
The state governments and the union territory administrations have been advised to impose curfew wherever necessary as many people continue to go out of their homes despite the lockdown ordered to check the spread of the virus, a government official told PTI.
The state governments have been conveyed that public gatherings could lead to escalation of the prevailing situation as so far nearly 500 positive cases have been reported from different parts of the country.
"Now, it is up to the state governments to take action as per the local situation and give necessary instructions to the district magistrates who have the powers to impose curfew," the official said.
The move came as 32 states and union territories announced complete lockdown to deal with the pandemic. Two states - Punjab and Maharashtra - and a UT - Puducherry - have already declared curfew in their respective areas.
The states and UTs which have imposed lockdown in all districts include Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland.
The others include Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Tripura, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Daman Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Karnataka and Assam.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, meanwhile, has written a letter to State Chief Secretaries, urging them to monitor the situation round the clock.
Gauba said additional restrictions, if necessary, may be imposed and all current restrictions must be enforced strongly. All violations should be met with legal action, the cabinet secretary told the states and UTs.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also held a video conference with DGPs of all states and asked them to strictly implement the lockdown and take action against those who violate it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to state governments to ensure that rules and regulations of the coronavirus lockdown are enforced strictly as he noted that many people were not following the measures seriously.
"Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to ensure rules and laws are followed," Modi said in a tweet in Hindi on Monday.
According to the data updated on Tuesday morning, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 492, including 446 active cases.
The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the nine deaths reported so far, the Health Ministry said. Seven deaths were earlier reported from Maharashtra (two), Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab.
Thirty-seven people have been cured/discharged/migrated, according to the official data. The number of active cases at 446 saw an increase of 22 from last night's figure, it said.
As cases of the viral infection surged, authorities have put almost the entire country under lockdown, banning gathering of people and suspending road, rail and air traffic till March 31.
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Sitaram Yechury writes to CEC, flags 'delay and discrepancies' in releasing voting figures
New Delhi, May 3: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has written to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar raising concerns over "delays and discrepancies" in the release of voting figures of the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls, the party said in a statement.
Yechury, in his letter, said it is surprising that the final figures for the percentage of voting in the first phase of polls were released after an "inordinate and unexplained" delay of eleven days, while in case of the second phase, the delay was of four days.
The CPI (M) leader said there was a difference of around six per cent in the initial and final voting percentage released. He also questioned why the numbers of votes polled was not disclosed.
"Unfortunately, the ECI has not come out with any explanation for the cause of this undue delay. What goes unanswered is also surge of six per cent from the initial figures that the ECI put out and the final figure," the CPI(M) said in the statement.
"While it is plausible that there may be a slight variation between the initial and the final figures, this variation of six per cent is unusual and raises some suspicion. Also, while the percentages have been disclosed, the voting figures (number of votes polled) have not yet been provided," the statement said.
The CPI(M) said in the interest of transparency and credibility of the process, it is incumbent that the ECI clear the doubts that have arisen in this regard.
"It should provide state-wise, constituency-wise and assembly segment-wise break-up of the initial and final percentage as also the number of votes cast. Further, it also needs to be clarified as to how much under which category this rise has taken place - EVMs, postal ballots, votes at Facilitation Centres for personnel on duty etc," it said.
In a post on X, Yechury said the ECI should provide state-wise, constituency-wise and assembly segment wise break-up of the initial and final percentage as also the number of votes cast.
The Congress, CPI(M) and the TMC had on Tuesday criticised the Election Commission over the delay in publishing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls.
The commission that evening made public the voter turnout data of the first and second phases of polling held on April 19 and April 26.
According to the EC, a voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in the first and 66.71 per cent in the second phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
However, opposition parties are demanding that the absolute number of voters, not just the percentage, be made public.
Voting for the general election is being held in seven phases, of which polling for two phases are over. The remaining phases are scheduled for May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
In the interests of transparency and credibility of the process, the ECI should provide state-wise, constituency-wise and assembly segment wise break-up of the initial and final percentage as also the number of votes cast. pic.twitter.com/YAAmGpKUw0
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) May 3, 2024
